Ocean View Inn & Suites

I felt inclined to leave a review after reading the numerous 1 star reviews for this establishment.

My wife, 2 kids, and myself stayed here this past weekend to do a weekend beach trip. My wife booked the room without reading reviews so when we began reading about it, we had major concerns. Here is my honest review after a two night stay.

I want to start out by saying that it seem like a vast majority of the 1 star reviews are a case of inflated expectations. This place is meant to be a BUDGET MOTEL. This isn't a 5 star hotel, it isn't going to have large flat screen TVs, jacuzzi tubs, and top end amenities. If these are things you are looking for, save yourself the trouble and book yourself a higher end hotel. You get what you pay for.

My next talking point is that I saw reviews mentioning the employee at the front desk was rude and had poor customer service. The gentleman that checked us in and out was nothing but respectful and even interacted with our two children. My guess is if something really did happen, the customer was either being a nuisance or being rude as well. Sure you can pull the old saying "the customer is always right" but I could pull another one, "treat others the way you want to be treated."

Now I want to talk about why I took away 2 stars. The 1 star could be gained back after a few easy changes but the other star is something they can't change without major renovations. Lets start with the star they can't gain back.

This is the single biggest issue I have with the vast majority of budget motels, thin walls. The combination of other guests (especially the ones above you) and being so close to a busy highway creates a noisy nights sleep. Thankfully my family sleeps with a box fan on so most of the noise was drowned out. If you are someone who needs complete silence, you may not get the best nights sleep here. I will say though, you will be hard pressed to find a budget motel without this problem.

The other star I took away was from a combination of things. Here are the talking points.
- The towels in the room had visible stains on them. They weren't necessarily dirty, but I think white towels with stains should be replaced with new ones. We always bring our own towels so wasn't a big deal.
- The fridge in our room had a spill in it which left behind a sticky mess. Seems it was something that was simply overlooked by house cleaning. Wasn't the end of the world.
- The window blinds in our rooms were absolutely filthy. They had a thick layer of dust and other crud. So much so that its clear the blinds are not a cleaning point for house keeping. My advice would be to either deep clean all the blinds, or replace with new ones.
- While I understand this is a budget hotel, there are a few things I think every hotel should have. Especially one that is within 10 minutes of the beach. Number one being an ice machine. There is a WAWA within walking distance but ice should be a basic amenity at a hotel. The second one being vending machines with drinks and snacks. If I was staying here after a long drive or was getting in late, it would be nice to have a place on the property to get a quick drink or snack.

Overall this motel met my expectations. The room isn't going to take your breath away, it is in the condition you would expect a room to be in after being used by hundreds of guest over x amount of years. It is a good and affordable place to stay for a couple of nights. With a few changes my review for this place would be a 4 out of 5. Again, people need to adjust their expectations. This is meant to be a cheap place to stay for a night or two. I think they do well at that. We would stay again.